Monument record 726/4/21 - Romano-British Town Defences

{1} Towcester defended by a stone wall and wide bank in c.170AD. At least one wet ditch? Multi ditch system? Total width of defences c.60m.There was no surviving trace of any refurbishment before the undated (but presumably later 4th century) addition of projecting bastions. These were 10m square and fragments of which were located at the north-west corners. These seem to have been accompanied by the cutting of a shallow, wet, wide ditch-estimated at 24m wide, which survived recutting only at the south of the town. Here it contained pottery of the late 4th century.

{2} A relatively large number of excavations and watching briefs across the line of the defences at Towcester most recently synthesised by Woodfield mean that its date, method of construction and course are comparatively well known. Woodfield believes the rampart and stone wall to be contemporaneous integral features of the original defences but Wacher considered this unlikely. On reflection it is currently clear that a clinching archaeological argument either way still awaits discovery.

<1> Woodfield C., 1992, The Defences of Towcester, Northamptonshire, p.13-66 (unchecked) (Article). SNN60159.

<2> Taylor J.; Foard G.; Laughton J.; Steadman S.; Ballinger J., 2002, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Towcester, Section 3.2 Defences (checked) (Report). SNN103132.

Record last edited

Jan 13 2015 6:41PM